You have to be living under a rock if you haven’t explored the Medium platform yet.
It is the publication platform that Hillary Clinton used to set up her first-ever campaign publication in 2016.
It is also where the Momentum publication started for writers to share thoughts on anti-black racism after George Floyd’s murder in 2020.
Currently, Medium is a community of 200,000 and 400,000 paying subscribers.
On top of all, it is one of the best ways to make money online and raise your voice.
You can make some good money online by sharing your thoughts or, as Medium calls, Stories.
How?
Let’s walk through this post to learn how to make money on Medium.
What is Medium?
Medium is a content publishing platform that anyone can join for free.
There is also a paid subscription plan for $5 per month to access endless content.
Medium’s main purpose is to liberate writers. It is one of the best blog sites that pay writers to write whatever they want.
Medium has no limitation on genres—you can write on tech topics, personal life stories, or something else. Again, don’t write anything offensive or against Medium writing policies.
How Much Do Medium Beginners Earn?
After joining the Medium Partner Program, don’t expect to make money overnight.
Medium calculates your income based on the following:
- How long readers spend time on your stories—this only counts for paid Medium members.
- How much time does a reader spend on your stories in a month?
For example, if a member spends 20% of their Medium time reading your stories, that 20% share will reflect your income. - How many new paying Medium members have you converted in a month?
- How many followers and claps do you receive on your stories?
Claps are not that important under the new Medium guidelines, but they still matter to build your credibility on the platform.
So, beginners should expect little or zero income for a few months.
But that’s no rule.
Some exceptional first stories received a great response on Medium.
How Much Can You Realistically Make on Medium?
There is no solid answer to that.
Some top writers make $1000, $2000, or $5000 per month on Medium.
Since Medium considers reading time to calculate monthly payouts, it is hard to tell how much money you can make on Medium at the end of the month.
There is a simple formula to calculate your Medium income:
Consistency on the platform + Content quality = Your Medium Income
Quick Tips to Make More Money on Medium
There are a few things you can do to make more money on Medium, such as:
- Write long stories as members can spend more time reading them, and you can embed more keywords for higher content ranking.
- Don’t write fluff to increase your Medium story read time. Instead, produce quality content because Medium editors also reward good content creators.
- Collaborate and network with other Medium members to build your community.
- Clap or comment on other creators’ stories to improve your engagement.
- Build your solid community on Medium before joining MPP.
- Optimize your Medium profile to build a reputation. For example, write a strong bio, add a profile photo and use other Medium tools to personalize your profile.
How to Make Money on Medium in Ways?
Writing on Medium is easy because it has a simple interface and content editor.
But making money on Medium is even easier.
Here’s how to make money on Medium:
Way 1. Medium Partner Program
The Medium Partner Program is the best way to make money online.
It allows freelance or part-time writers to earn income based on how much response their stories receive.
The MPP is a free program that anyone can join. Even unpaid Medium users can join the program.
Here’s a certain eligibility criterion to join this program:
- Be 18 years old or more.
- You must have published a story on your Medium account.
- You need 100 or more followers on your profile.
- At least publish one story in six months.
- You must have a Stripe account because Medium only pays through it once a month.
- The Medium Partner Program is applicable in only a few countries. Here’s the list—
If you are eligible to join the program, apply via a form and wait for Medium approval.
Once Medium accepts your request, your real money-making process starts.
You must create informative, SEO-focused, consistent content for the best results.
Medium offers built-in tracking tools to discover your top-performing stories so you can cover more of those topics.
But, in the end, it depends upon your efforts—how much you can make from this program.
Way 2. Referred Membership
Apart from MPP, Medium creators can use Referred Membership support to make more money.
The writers enrolled in the Medium Partnership Program can participate in this feature.
If an MPP writer converts a non-paying Medium user into a paying one, they earn half of that user’s membership fee.
That means if a Medium fee for a user is $5 per month, you can receive $2.01 for each referral after deducting additional charges.
This image can better help you understand your Medium referral earnings:
There you have two options to make money via referrals:
Custom Landing Page
A Partner Program writer has the option to personalize referral landing pages.
In addition, it provides Medium readers a chance to become paid members to access your unlimited stories.
Also, writers can share this page link on post pages and social media platforms or add it to their Medium profiles.
To create referral landing pages, open your Medium account and tap on your profile picture.
Afterward, go to Settings > Publish > Share your membership referral page.
Then, copy your link and share it anywhere you want.
Create an Email Subscribers List
Medium now lets PP writers create an email list.
In addition, you can build an email subscription subscriber list of non-paying Medium users.
After that, you can create innovative email marketing campaigns to promote your referral link and convert more paying customers to this platform.
You can personalize the referral message to attract more signups.
To do so, tap your profile picture > Settings > Publish > Customize your membership message.
Way 3. Write for Paid Medium Publications
Are you not eligible for the Medium Partnership Program?
Then, no need to feel bad. You can still make money on Medium—thanks to paid publications.
Medium publications are shared spaces where writers can contribute stories on a set theme or topic.
These publications have a huge follower base to expand your stories’ reach.
The best part is some Medium publications reward writers for showcasing their work on their platform.
The reward amount can vary from publication to publication. Some leading publications even pay $50, $100, or more for a story.
You can check your targeted publication guidelines to know how much they pay and check their writing guidelines.
You have to follow the publication’s guidelines properly.
Otherwise, they can reject your story.
Here are some top-paying Medium publications:
- Zora is a Medium space for women of color, paying from $0.83 to $1 per word.
- Level is the newest publication focused on black and brown men, with payouts from $0.83 to $1.00 per word.
- Heated is for foodies that pay up to $1 per word.
Way 4. Leverage Affiliate Links
Medium allows affiliate links. If you have joined an affiliate marketing program, you can promote it via your stories.
You can also promote your affiliate programs on Medium.
However, if you plan to share affiliate links containing stories on the Medium publication, check that publication’s guidelines regarding affiliates.
In addition, spammy and pornographic affiliate links are not allowed on Medium.
Here are some basic rules for using affiliate links on Medium:
- First-party promotional links are allowed.
- Third-party advertising and sponsorship through Medium posts, publications, or letters are not allowed.
- You must disclose your affiliate links information.
Way 5. Medium Bonus
Medium appreciates their writers’ hard work.
Therefore, Medium has started distributing rewards to its consistent and high-performing contributors.
From time to time, Medium shares a part of its profit with top-performing writers.
Way 6. Drive Traffic and Improve SEO
It is an indirect way to make money from Medium.
Marketers and bloggers can use Medium to drive traffic toward their websites.
For example, you can share a snippet of your blog post on Medium and motivate readers to visit your site to access the full content.
Marketers can use Medium to generate backlinks.
They can avoid all ledge work of approaching third-party websites for guest blogs and simply post content on Medium.
You can also target relevant keywords and improve your website credibility through Medium.
How to Make Money on Medium: Bottom Line
Writing on Medium is both rewarding and suitable for your digital reach.
Moreover, as we have discussed, you can make money via several options on Medium.
Medium Partner Program and Referred Membership are the two best ways to make money on this platform.
Unfortunately, if you cannot join this program, writing for publications and affiliate marketing is the next best option to generate income from Medium.
We hope this “how to make money n Medium” tutorial has given you some perspective to start earning through your writing.
However, if you need more help with online money-making, please refer to our other tutorials.
We have plenty of great stuff for you!
Other Helpful Tutorials
Bloggingtips.com has some other helpful tutorials to help you make money on Medium:
- How to Write a Blog Post: Your blog posts can make you tons on Medium. So, let’s see how to write an engaging blog post.
- How to Make Money Online Without Paying Anything: It is possible to make money online without spending anything. Check this tutorial to know more.
- How to Make Money On Pinterest: This guide can show you how to make money from your Pinterest account.
